App State continued their dominant conference play Saturday evening as they trounced Coastal Carolina 88-59.
“We really just imposed our will on them, and we just had great starts from the start of the game and the second half,” said head coach Dustin Kerns. “We really scored off our defense, and we really sped them up and that’s want we wanted to do.”
Just as Kerns said, the Mountaineers scored 17 points off 12 Chanticleers turnovers. The Black and Gold also blocked eight shots in the outing, making them the No. 1 team in the country for total blocks.
App State held Coastal Carolina to 59 points, which is now the 10th time this season they held an opponent to under 60. The Mountaineers allow 63 points per game, ranking 12th in scoring defense in the country.
The Black and Gold were led by junior forward Tre’Von Spillers, who scored 18 points along with nine rebounds and two blocks. Graduate student forward Donovan Gregory and senior forward CJ Huntley also contributed with 13 points and two blocks each.
App State dominated early as they jumped to a 14-2 lead. The Mountaineers never trailed in a game where Coastal Carolina’s smallest deficit was seven with 5:48 remaining in the first half.
To open the second half, the Black and Gold went on a 15-0 run led by Spillers who scored 10 points in less than five minutes.
App State’s defense shined all game as the Chanticleers shot a mere 4 of 16 from three and only made one for the entire second half. The Black and Gold used their defense to generate scoring runs all game.
On the opposite side of the ball, the Mountaineers shot above their season averages from the field and from three.
Kerns has emphasized the depth of his team all season. In Saturday’s game, six different players scored in double figures while eight players played more than fifteen minutes. The depth allowed the Black and Gold to wear down the Chanticleers in the second half.
With the win, App State completes the season sweep of Coastal Carolina and improves to 15-4 on the season. The Mountaineers are now 6-1 in conference play, which puts them in first place in the Sun Belt standings.
“We’re just staying in the present and staying in the moment. Take it one day at a time. We talked about just taking care of the task at hand,” Kerns said when asked about how his team can stay consistent with its success.
The Mountaineers will play again Thursday against rival Georgia Southern in Boone. The game will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
